International Peaceand Security

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Eight Grants to Address Emerging Threats in Nuclear Security

$3 million in new grants to advance the field’s understanding of technology-driven challenges.

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About the RFP

This is the second RFP the Corporation has issued on the challenges new technologies pose to nuclear stability. The first RFP resulted in six grants in 2015, which can be viewed here.

New technologies in a volatile world could create a new nuclear arms race and increase the risk of nuclear use. To better understand these emerging threats, Carnegie Corporation of New York today announced eight new grants aimed at reducing the risk of nuclear disaster.

"For many years, nuclear war seemed unthinkable, but that can no longer be taken for granted"

1Australian National University

Australian National University, Canberra, Australia: $450,000 to evaluate how advances in networked sensing, data processing, and artificial intelligence are changing anti-submarine warfare and nuclear deterrence, with a focus on nuclear risks in the Asia-Pacific region.

2Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington, D.C.: $450,000 to explore technical and policy steps in the United States and China to reduce the risk posed by cyber threats to nuclear command and control systems.

3Center for Strategic and International Studies, Inc.

Center for Strategic and International Studies, Inc., Washington, D.C.:$402,000 to bring current and rising nuclear experts together to examine how recent advances in computer platforms, sensors and networks could affect situational awareness of decision-makers during crises between nuclear-armed states.

4Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies|Center for Nonproliferation Studies

5Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Solna, Sweden: $400,000 to spotlight ways that machine learning and autonomy could lead to a new type of arms race that will affect nuclear operations. The project will develop recommendations for proactive crisis management.

6University of California, Berkeley|Sandia National Laboratories|Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

7Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments

Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, Washington, D.C.: $250,000 to evaluate the poorly understood effects of hypersonic technology on strategic nuclear stability and on current assumptions about deterrence and nuclear operations.

8Atlantic Council of the United States, Inc.

Atlantic Council of the United States, Inc., Washington, D.C: $250,000 to assess the impact of computer, space, and missile defense developments on the global power balance and on nuclear stability, and to identify ways that new technologies could reinforce rather than weaken the existing international order.

Advances in cyber-warfare, artificial intelligence, precision targeting, drones and hypersonic delivery systems are challenging assumptions about the capabilities of both nuclear and non-nuclear states.

Following a competitive selection process, the grants totaling more than $3 million will support researchers from four countries and a range of academic disciplines, all focused on innovative approaches to reducing nuclear uncertainty.

Projects receiving funding include:

An exploration of steps China and the United States could take to reduce cyber-threats to nuclear command and control systems;

An assessment of ways that advances in conventional weapon systems in non-nuclear states could affect nuclear crisis stability and alliance dynamics; and

A game-driven assessment of the challenge that hypersonic delivery methods pose to nuclear stability.

“For many years, nuclear war seemed unthinkable, but that can no longer be taken for granted,” said Carl Robichaud, a program officer in the International Peace and Security program at the Corporation. “Cyber attacks, machine learning, and advances in surveillance and accuracy have created new uncertainties and compressed decision-making time. The goal of this initiative is to encourage a fresh look, both at where we are and where we are headed, so that we don’t stumble blindly toward a disaster.”

About Carnegie Corporation of New York

Carnegie Corporation of New York was established in 1911 by Andrew Carnegie to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding. In keeping with this mandate, the Corporation's work focuses on the issues that Andrew Carnegie considered of paramount importance: international peace, the advancement of education and knowledge, and a strong democracy.

In selecting these projects from among 50 proposals, Carnegie Corporation placed special emphasis on work that combines technical and policy expertise, brings new voices to the field, fosters collaboration among multiple institutions, and integrates early-career experts.

Proposals came from university research centers, think tanks and other organizations, and each was considered through a two-step process. Internal and external reviews included a panel of more than a dozen top experts from government, industry, and academia.

As Americans prepare to go to the polls for the 2018 midterm elections, a new report from the National Academy of Sciences highlights the threat of disruption from cyberattacks on electoral infrastructure across the country.